Postoperative Morbidity

Perfusion breakthrough: Normal perfusion pressure breakthrough is a phenomenon that is thought to occur after resection of high-flow AVMs in which the blood previously transmitted through the AVM is redirected to smaller, normal vasculature after the AVM has been removed, with subsequent inability of the vessels to handle the increased flow. This can result in brain swelling, increased ICP, seizure, neurological dysfunction, or hemorrhage. The problem may be minimized by staged preoperative embolization and rigorous blood pressure control postoperatively.